Little Red Riding Hood
by Eleantris
Summary: Alex had always thought there was a dark undercurrent to fairytales, so when one comes to haunt her in her dreams, who else is there to comfort her afterwards but Gene? Everyone needs their fairytale ending, some are just where you least expect it. Galex.


_**Hi, this is just a one-shot I thought of after my brilliant friend 'TheFatalIllusion' was telling me about this creepy game she had based on little red riding hood. Don't worry though; there is some Galex in there! Hope you enjoy it and please review!**_

_**X =D**_

_**Disclaimer – I don't own Ashes to Ashes. =D**_

_**Little Red Riding Hood**_

* * *

_The young girl moved between the trees, a crimson cloak falling from her shoulders to the floor where it dragged amongst the trampled leaves, their fiery colours reduced to nothing but a muddy brown by the recent rain. Above the canvas of knotted treetops, a full moon hung in the velvet sky, but struggled to shine through. Slivers of pale light tumbled down through the web of crooked branches, giving the girl's face an eerie, translucent glow as she continued to weave through the dark wooden columns that surrounded her. Every step she made echoed through the silent air, the ends of her cloak rustling against the leaves. _

_Alex's heart was hammering in her chest, beating against her ribcage as though trying to escape the confines of her body. Barely daring to breathe, she took a careful step forward, trying to follow the girl at a distance. What was she doing out here in the woods at night? It wasn't safe, she should be sensible enough to know that, even if Alex wasn't there to tell her so. _

_For the next few minutes, a strange, slow and silent dance ensued between Alex and the young girl. She took a steady step forwards, and so Alex tentatively followed, mirroring the girl's actions from metres away. This carried on for a while, each crackle of leaves or snapping of a twig sounding like a thunderclap in the still night until they neared a clearing. There was a small circle where the moon shone down, casting its eerie glow onto the exposed patch of forest floor as the girl neared the edge. But then, just before stepping into the light, she turned, the deep red cloak swirling round to rest behind her. _

_Alex froze, her hazel eyes meeting the cool blue of the young girl's. _

"_Why are you following me?" she asked, looking confused, hurt and angry all at the same time. There was a shadow across her face, highlighting the way the moonlight reflected in her eyes as she stared at Alex, waiting for an answer. _

"_What are you doing out here, Molls?" Alex asked softly, taking a step forwards and pushing a nearby branch out of the way. "It's late, you should be with Evan. How did you get out of the house?"_

_Molly stared at her for a moment. "No. I should be with you, not Evan. But you don't care anymore; you left me." A note of pain seeped into her confident tone at the last few words and Alex took another step forward, her chest tightening at her daughter's words. _

"_Of course I care, Molls," she whispered, biting down on her lip to prevent it from trembling. "It's just...I don't know how to get back, and I keep trying and trying but..." she sniffed slightly, eyes shining with tears that she desperately wanted to shed. "I keep trying to get home to you, Molly, but nothing works. But I'm fighting, I am. I promise. I'm coming back to you, Molly."_

"_No, you're not," Molly told her, voice cold again as her eyes refused to blink, almost as if she couldn't. Her smooth lips were set in a straight line, casting an inhuman beauty onto her childish face as Alex gazed back at her, feeling, for some reason, afraid. "You're not coming back to me. So I'm going to find Grandma's house. That's why I'm here."_

_A frown formed on Alex's face as she paused where she was, looking intently at her daughter. "Molls, don't you mean Granny? Granny Drake? She lives near Evan; why are you in the woods?"_

"_No," Molly said insistently, her glare intensifying. "Not Granny Drake. Grandma. I'm looking for Grandma."_

"_But, Molls," Alex said, taking another step forward. "Grandma's dead; she died before you were born, when I was even younger than you. Darling, she's dead now. You won't find her here."_

"_And why not?" Molly asked, anger seeping into the ice cold tone that now carried along her words. Casting a long look around, she smiled slightly and then returned her hard gaze to Alex. "After all, you're dead, and you're here. So if you're here, then Grandma must be too. And I'm not leaving until I find her."_

_Alex gave a weak smile, though inside she felt like screaming. Her eyes stung from the pain of suppressing tears and it felt like there was a knife in her stomach, twisting deeper and deeper with every word her daughter spoke. "You always were stubborn, Molls. But, I'm not dead. I'm just...lost. I'm coming back; I haven't died – I'm still alive, look – I'm here." She smiled again, trying to soften the ice cold expression on Molly's inhumanly beautiful face. "Besides, you shouldn't be wandering around the woods in a red cloak, looking for your Grandma – remember what happened to little red riding hood?" she added teasingly, stepping forward so she was stood a mere foot from her daughter. "You don't want to meet a wolf, do you, Molly?" Her tone was quiet, light and joking as she tried to coax some kind of warm, human expression out of the stone features of her daughter's face. _

"_A wolf?" Molly asked, frowning as if the concept was completely new to her. "You mean a lion, Mum. A big, ferocious, violent and possessive lion. That's the way the story goes." _

"_No, Molls," Alex said softly, shaking her head. "It's a wolf, that disguises itself as little red riding hood's Grandma. Not a lion."_

_Molly swallowed and then a look of pure, burning fury blazed across her face, her steel eyes boring into Alex's watery ones. "But it is a lion in this story, Mum. Don't you see? It's a lion that took you from me – that kept you so that you can never come back to me." Her voice was rising in volume, building up to a crescendo that seeped hatred and anger from every word. "A big, ferocious, violent and possessive lion that's holding onto you so tightly that you can never, ever escape and come back to me. You just don't get it, do you? You fight, and you fight, but you're fighting against the wrong things! It's _him_ you should be fighting against, not all those other people!" Suddenly, Molly stepped backwards into the circular pool of moonlight, allowing her face to fall into its luminescent glow as her eyes sparkled with fury. And as quickly as someone switches a button, Molly's voice was quiet, perfectly calm yet laced with an underlying hatred that dripped from every softly spoken syllable. "But then, you don't really want to fight him, do you, Mum? Because he means more to you than me – that big, ferocious, violent and possessive lion. He's more important." _

"_No, he's not!" Alex cried, reaching her arms out towards her daughter in desperation. But Molly just took another step back. "You're the most important thing to me, Molly! You always have been, and you always will be! But Gene – he's not a bad person, Molly. He isn't stopping me from coming back to you; he's my rock, my constant. I need him in that world, Molls. But not as much as I need you in the real one. I am coming back, Molls. I will find a way, but it isn't his fault." _

"_It is," Molly seethed through gritted teeth, her pale hands balling into fists as she drew herself up to stand a little taller. "You're so blinded by him that you can't see!"_

"_No!" Alex cried, tears running freely down her face now as she sobbed and longed for her daughter to transform back into the Molly she knew. The warm, joking Molly who always had a smile on her face and wouldn't judge her over anything. This wasn't Molly...it looked like Molly, and sounded a little like Molly...but she...she wasn't the same. She was just a projection. And as soon as Alex realised that, the girl before her changed. Suddenly she was a tall man, with dark, slick hair, a smug smile and thick rimmed glasses, his dark eyes bottomless as they glimmered, evil lurking in their depths. _

"_Come on, Alex," he whispered threateningly, taking a step towards her as his shadow loomed over her slim frame, making her gasp in fear and stumble backwards, feeling for the branches that hung from the blackened trees. "Find out the truth."_

"_No," she whispered, terrified as he continued his advance. "I can't, Jim. It's not, he's not...It isn't his fault. Stop it."_

_But Jim didn't stop. He kept coming towards her, that smug, menacing smile on his face as she continued to stumble backwards, almost tripping over tree roots and falling to the sodden ground. _

"_Stop it, please," Alex whimpered, tears still staining her face as she tried to turn and run, but he reached and grabbed her wrist, clutching it tightly in his hand. "Please. Don't do this...I have to get home to my little girl...stop it. Whatever it is you're doing, stop it!"_

_A deadly, taunting sound echoed around the woods as Jim threw his head back and laughed, his eyes glittering with sick enjoyment. "Why don't you stop it, Alex? I'm inside _your_ head. If you want me out, wake up."_

"_I...I..." Alex stuttered, desperately glancing around for something or someone that could help her. But there was nothing except the wind whistling through the trees, and the terrifying man that refused to let go of her wrist. "I can't..." She squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again. "I can't wake up..."_

"_Can't wake up?" he asked, violently flinging her to the ground. She hit the ground hard, her head falling back against a thick tree trunk as she felt the wet from the leaves seep through her clothes. He grinned wickedly, stepping forwards to stand over her, covering her shaking form with his shadow. "I'll help you wake up."_

* * *

A loud thump sounded from above where Gene was sat with Ray and Chris, happily getting wasted on Luigi's house rubbish.

"Christ," Chris muttered, looking up at the ceiling. "What the 'ell happened up there? Do yer think she's alright, Guv?" He glanced towards Gene, and then back up at the ceiling where they all knew Alex's flat was situated.

Letting out a disgruntled sigh, Gene set down his pint glass with a thud and pouted slightly, wondering what to do. "Maybe I better go see if she's alright, bloody fruitcake."

"Eh up, Guv," Ray said, throwing an arm out as Gene made to stand up. "What if she's just shagging some tosser up there?"

"Doubt it," Gene said, before turning and making his way out of the noisy restaurant. However, once he reached the stairwell, he paused, thinking back to what Ray had said. What if Alex really was just giving it some with yet another thatcherite wanker? He didn't exactly want to walk in on that. Hell, he hated the thought of seeing Alex just _kiss_ another man, let along shag them.

But then, he heard a cry – a definite cry of pain from his Bolly. And within thirty seconds, Gene had cleared the stairs and was pushing on the door to her flat.

"Bolly!" he called out, finally busting the door open as he strode in, casting panicked glances around the darkened flat. Briefly taking in the empty wine glass still sat on the coffee table and the abandoned case file she must have been reading before retiring to bed, Gene crossed the room to approach her bedroom door, his eyes filled with concern. Just what on earth was going on? And that was when he heard it.

"No! Please, don't do this...I can't wake up, please don't! I just want to get home to Molly, please...no!"

Alex was screaming – as in, properly screaming in pure horror. Her terrified cries hit Gene like several blows to the chest, his heart screwing up in pain as he thought of the fact that someone, or something, was hurting her.

"Bols!" He threw open the bedroom door, taking in with wide eyes the sight of his DI, thrashing about on the floor in a fit, screaming and crying though seemingly still asleep. The crimson duvet was half hanging off the bed, indicating that she must have fallen out whilst flailing about in terror, her bare legs kicking out from beneath the silk nightshirt.

He was by her side in seconds, knelt on the white carpet as he tried to gather her thrashing body into his arms, muttering to her to wake up, to open her eyes and stop. "Shh, Bols," he murmured, trying to still her flailing arms as they hit out against his chest. "Yer just dreamin', come on, wake up. It's only me." But she continued to struggle against him, her face screwed up in terror as incoherent cries of fear escaped her lips. "Alex!" he shouted, tapping against her cheek. "Alex, wake up!"

Gasping, her eyes flew open, darting about in terror – obviously still searching for some unknown threat. "Molly," she cried, voice wrought with pain as tears began to stream down her face, her body wracked with sobs as he pulled her tight against him, soothing down her hair and whispering nothings into her ear. "Molly...she was there...but, it wasn't her...and then he...h-he c-c-came and tried t-to..."

"Shh, Bols," Gene murmured, his face buried in her hair as he tried to rub soothing circles into her side with his fingers, his nose inhaling the subtle scent that hung around her like a heavenly mist wherever she went. "It's alright, Bols. It's just me 'ere now. Yer safe; no-one's goin' t' hurt yer."

It could have been minutes or hours later when Alex's sobs finally subsided, her breathing slowing to a normal rate as the horrifying events of her dream began to slip away, though her mind was still haunted by the chilling sound of her daughter's voice, and the look of malice in Jim's eyes as he tried to...

Eventually, with a small, shuddering breath, she lifted her head to meet Gene's gaze, her wide hazel eyes still shining with tears. "Thank you," she whispered, wetting her dry lips. "For waking me up, he was g-going to..."

"It's alright, Bolly," he murmured quickly, his hand slipping comfortably down to her waist as he still held her frail, slightly quaking form in his arms, her legs curled up on his lap. "Nightmare?"

She nodded, lip trembling slightly. "Yeah..."

"Well it's alright now," he told her, forcing a small smile onto his worried face. "The Gene Genie's 'ere t' protect yer. You okay?"

Nodding again, Alex sniffed slightly and buried her face in his shoulder, the musky smell of cigarette smoke, soap and whisky doing wonders to calm her erratic heart-rate. "I am now...I..." she trailed off, glancing up at him. "I thought I was going to die, Gene," she whispered, the terror in her voice betraying the fear that still coursed through her veins.

"Don't be silly. Yer can't die in a dream, Bols. I wouldn't let yer."

A small, quiet laugh tumbled from her lips and though it sounded slightly half-hearted, it relieved Gene to hear it. For a short, silent moment, he quickly took the time to absorb the fact that he was sat, with a half-dressed Alex Drake in his arms, her breasts pushing up against his chest, one hand holding her to him, and the other resting on the soft, warm skin of her thigh. She felt...perfect.

"Wouldn't you now?" she asked in a shaky voice, attempting a small smile as his stormy gaze met hers again.

"No," he told her softly, still not moving his hand from her thigh. She hadn't complained yet, and it felt...right, somehow, to hold her like this. Even if she hadn't barely let him near her since she woke up – physically at least. "Far too gorgeous for a start. Couldn't let yer die."

She laughed again, settling her head on his shoulder as one hand slipped up to rest against the side of his neck, her cool fingertips brushing over his pulse rate in a silent gesture. They sat like that in silence for a moment, content to be in each other's arms, sharing the warmth of their bodies and completely ignoring the growing arousal rising up inside each of them. Having her curled up in his lap, body pressed against his was sending Gene wild, and having something press insistently into her inner thigh wasn't helping Alex's resolve much either. Was it time perhaps, that Gene became more than just a colleague, or a rock, her constant...or whatever it was she regarded him as?

"Gene?"

He looked down at her, eyes flitting to her moist lips and then back up again, meeting her eyes and seeing the hidden lust there, the desperate want that lingered in her pupils. Something in the pit of his stomach stirred, and he knew this was it. No interruptions, no hesitations. Just them. Alone.

"I know," he whispered, before gently pressing his lips to hers.

His lips were soft, moving gently against hers in a slow, sensual kiss that had every nerve ending in her body tingling. His arms moved to wrap tighter around her waist, pulling her closer until she moved her legs to straddle either side of him. Feeling his tongue lightly probe against her bottom lip, Alex opened her mouth with a passionate sigh, a moan escaping from the back of her throat as their tongues entwined, desire erupting within her.

"Gene," she moaned, bringing both hands up to cradle his face, her fingers brushing lightly against his hairline. Her lips pressed against his a little harder, deepening the kiss as Gene let out a guttural moan, one hand slipping down to rest against her arse and the other pulling her even closer against him.

"Don't know how much I've wanted this, Bolly," he murmured as they finally broke apart, mouths still lingering mere millimetres from each other as his warm breath brushed across her face.

"Me too," she sighed, her voice breathy as her hand slipped down to rest against his heart, feeling the steady rhythm there that beat through his chest.

A low chuckle escaped him as he glanced at the hand that was resting above his heart. Smiling slightly, his lifted his own hand to gently squeeze her breast through the silk shirt, his darkened gaze coming up to meet hers. "So Bolly-Knickers, are you goin t' kiss me, or punch me?"

A smile spread lazily across her lips, eyes dancing happily as she leant forward just a tiny bit more. "Definitely kiss you this time," she whispered, before pressing her lips to his and doing exactly that. And as he carefully lifted her from the floor and onto the bed, his warm lips never leaving hers, all thoughts of the frightening incarnation of little red riding hood, and a certain man named Jim Keats left Alex's head. All she could concentrate on was him and the fact that somehow, this was where she belonged now.

Little red riding hood must have wandered into the wrong book, because there was definitely no big, ferocious, violent and possessive lion in her fairytale.

* * *

_**Well, it's something a little different to any other Galex one-shots I've done, but I thought I'd post it and see what you all think. Please review and tell me your thoughts! Thanks for reading. **_

_**X =D**_


End file.
